Whether it’s Christmas, someone’s birthday, a new baby or an engagement gift, there’s always something you can find at a local market that makes a great gift.

Here’s 7 reasons I think shopping at a local market (complete with the cute awning) is great:

1. Support your local community – you’re helping someone in your neighbourhood make a living – and they’ll spend most of that money in your area, too, benefitting everyone.

2. Good for your environment - if they’re locally made artisan goods, there’s less carbon nonsense being accumulated via petrol and packaging for shipping. If it’s close enough that you can walk there and leave the car behind, bonus points.

3. Unique – you’re likely to find products that you won’t see anywhere else – certainly not stacked to the ceiling in Toys ‘R’ Us or Target.

4. Discovery/being in the know - ever heard about those hot clothing designers who started off selling their wares at local markets? How cool would you feel knowing you were there, helping support them from the start of their stellar career?

5. Lower costs means lower prices – market stalls cost from $40 and the money they save on renting a shop means they can keep prices lower which makes it affordable for you.

6. Personal contact – in today’s pre-packaged world, it is charming and delightful to direct meet the people who (hand)make the items you’re handing cash over for.

7. Fun – the markets are a day out in themselves. There’s always something new every week and the chance to pick up something amazing that you’ll know they just love.

Why do you like shopping at local markets for gifts?

eBay fans, at last there’s a loyalty scheme especially for you!

From now on, any gifts you buy for others will offer you more than the fist-pumping “Yes!” when you’ve outbid the other contestants (sorry, customers).

Introducing the eBay Bucks rewards program, which has been slowly gestating in the cyber womb since April last year.

To qualify, you need to: 1. Purchase a qualifying item. 2. Pay using PayPal (also owned by eBay). (and you knew this was coming…) 3. Be an American customer.

If you tick these three boxes, you’ll be rewarded with a 2% kickback in the form of eBay Bucks, which will accumulate quarterly. You’ll then be issued a statement telling you how many you’ve got up your sleeve to use for other eBay purchases you make over the next 30 days. Rather like cyber tokens.

These eBay Bucks are automatically generated by any qualifying purchase, all the way up to a maximum of $500 per quarter. Some shopping categories lie outside the program, such as classifieds and real estate, but most items the average person is likely to be hunting for will come with the 2% kickback.

No doubt eBay will monitor the program to see how it fares in The Land Of The Free, with a possible eye on expansion to the international market. But for the time being, only the program will only apply in America. Watch this space for updates.

Ladies, ever wonder why your fellas always seem to be buying you the same kinds of gifts, year in and year out (and hey, if it comes in that little robin’s egg blue box, don’t complain – and does he have a brother?) while you’re much more likely to travel far and wide in search of that perfect item for him?

It’s got nothing to do with laziness, lack of imagination or even a chronic dislike of shopping. It’s in their biology. Yes that’s right, the poor poppets can’t really help it.

New research from Europe suggests that while both men and women display loyalty in fairly equal measure, women are more people-oriented with their loyalty, men focus more on brands and products, even places.

Not convinced? Well, the clearest and most obvious example is the well-known propensity for women to follow a favourite, trusted hairdresser to a different salon. Men are more likely to remain with the same hairdressing business regardless of who is cutting their hair to smithereens.

It also explains why women’s clothing stores only have one or two assistants while men’s clothing stores are swarming with them. Female consumers look for an interdependent human connection when they go shopping and if they like the store, often become very friendly with the manager, who will call them personally when their favourite designer’s stock has arrived.

Men, who operate on a search-destroy-kill mission just like cavemen when it comes to shopping, are loyal only to the brand or make/model of the product itself. They just want to pay for it and get the hell out so male-focused shops have numerous assistants to help speed their process along. There’s no need for friendship or even depth of interaction here.

Male brand loyalty may explain why he still wears Levis 501s – 20 years after their heyday – or like my stepfather insisted on wearing safari suits well into the 80s even though he wasn’t attending a fancy-dress party.

Have you ever received a birthday present from say, your grandparents, parents or partner, which as you look at them with an offended expresson, they say,”I thought you might appreciate x item because…” and away they go, trying desperately to backpedal out of a sticky gift-giving occasion.

Usually these gifts belong to one of the Seven Deadly Sins:

Sloth
These suggest you are a lazy sod. It could be a universal remote (“so you can sit there and not have to move”), one of those remote, magazine and drink holders you slip over the arm of your sofa, a hammock or a satin eye-mask to wear while sleeping (which, since you do so much of it, you’ll want to look good while you snooze).

Gluttony
These usually related to your shape or weight. They can include, but are not restricted to, Spanx shapewear, exercise equipment, gym wear, gym memberships, diet books, books like How Not to Look Fat, and “healthy” cooking equipment that you’ve never used before and will probably never use. A rice steamer comes to mind.

Greed
They will give you what they can afford and you will be furious it is so stingy – god, only a $100 gift certificate?! You are not embarrassed to give people a long list of what you want for your birthday – and oh, you expect to get all of it.

Anger
This could cover everything from a boppo toy “to take out your aggression” to a GPS unit to, as Navman says, “stop carguments” when driving.

Envy
They want what you’re having/eating/wearing/reading. So they might slip up and mention that they liked it so much they bought an identical one for themselves. When really, they’re annoyed they have to give it to you at all…  Giving you a bowling ball, a power tool or a Nintendo – when you know full well they’ll be comandeering it back for themselves in no time - falls under this Deadly gift-giving Sin.

Pride
Be afraid, very afraid if someone gives you a mirror. It will prove you DO think you’re the fairest one of them all.

Lust
This tends to be the cheesy red lacy lingerie, explicit DVDs, sex manuals and toys, flavoured body paint and so on that a husband gives his wife for Valentine’s Day or their anniversary, hoping to spice up their marriage.

Naturally, if you buy any of these items for yourself, well, that’s OK then.

When you want to buy things in the US and ship them home to Australia, you may need a mail forwarding company as I mentioned in my previous post, 7 reasons you should ship around for your mail forwarding companies.

I’ve looked at seven different mail forwarding services in America, what they provide and their fees so you can compare for yourself.

Only you will know how often and quickly you need to get something delivered and how heavy it’s going to be, but as a shipping fees guide, you can pay between $12.78 for a 2-pound package sent via USPS by Carrie My Shopping (set up by an Australian, Carrie Michel, who now lives in North Carolina) to $59.52 by My US (using DHL).

 People, start your shopping engines!

There are many online retailers who do not ship worldwide (It’s In The Stars does offer free shipping worldwide) and this can make it a problem when you spot the perfect item for say, someone’s birthday on an overseas (usually US) website.

The solution is to get your goodies sent to you via a mail forwarder which packages up your purchases into one big goodie box and ships it to whichever address you desire.

There are seven things to consider when ordering through a mail forwarder:

1. Do they offer you an American address? Many retailers won’t ship outside the States, let alone have a foreigner buy from them! Heaven forbid those aliens could shop online in America.

2. Do they offer a shopping service? Thanks to anti-fraud policies, many online retailers won’t accept credit cards with an address not from their country. You may need them to purchase the items on your behalf, first paying them, of course for the items, and a shopping fee, usually into a Paypal account.

3. Will it be a once-off purchase or will you do this on a regular basis? Some mail forwarders require you to sign up for at least one month or longer, and even offer 12-month subscriptions. Others let you do it ad hoc.

4. Can you have extra names on your mailbox? You might like to team up with your sister or best friend to cut down on shipping charges when you buy online internationally. Some mail forwarders let you have additional names for free.

5. Do you need the item stored? Some mail forwarders give you the option to hold your mail for you for a certain period of time. Maybe you’ve bought it out-of-season and don’t want your partner to discover their surprise gift before Christmas or your anniversary.

Or you might be heading to the US shortly and want them to send it to you at your hotel so you can save on shipping AND airline baggage fees and you can use/wear/read/eat it there. Storage periods vary with some holding your products for free, others charging a fee.

6. Are you planning to shop through one store or several? Repackaging services can save you a fortune as all your goodies are consolidated into one neat package.

7. Do you want to track your items? Some mail forwarders use USPS only which doesn’t provide tracking; others use DHL which does, but costs quite a bit more.

Next post: comparing the costs and features of several US mail forwarding companies…

Retailers are always keen to know what they call “consumer spending intentions”.

And if you know what these intentions are, they can give you interesting gift ideas for birthdays – but also for anniversaries, Christmas, engagement and wedding gifts – in fact, any sort of gift occasion where you’re treating someone to a product or service they might buy for themself if they had the extra money. They are in fact, a public gift wishlist.

In a new survey of 1,200 consumers by eBillme which looks at what people would spend their money on once the economy improves (read: when they have some extra money), travel won out as the top way to blow cash, with 52% voting for it. I’d be on a plane too if I had some spare room on my Visa!

So if you’ve got an important gift occasion that you’d like to surprise someone, you probably can’t go wrong with a plane ticket (has anyone actually ever received one as a present?), a gift certificate for a hotel, resort or bed-and-breakfast stay, vouchers toward a cruise, island or spa vacation, or even a gift card for the car rental for the weekend. 

Dining out is right behind at 51%. Restaurant gift certificates offer your gift recipient a lot of freedom and a wonderful memory, but most people – especially women – just want a break from cooking. Did you know you can also get gift vouchers for chefs to cook up up a storm at your home – whether for an event, or to help you stock up your freezer?

Third-most popular choice for people to spend their money is clothes and accessories (41%). You’ve probably seen what they wear often enough to give them gift cards for the right sort of retailers. During winter you probably can’t go wrong with fine leather or suede gloves, a soft lambswool sweater, or a pashmina. Summer? Clothes are harder to guess although groovy t-shirts are always fun. I’d think about giving them a huge plush beach towel, a beach bag, a weekend bag or beach umbrella. Who should you buy these for? In the This Should Be No Surprise Department: Almost twice as many women as men (52% vs 30%) want new clothes and accessories.

Just over a third (34%) want to buy electronics. I’d hate to know where to start with that one. Knowing whether they’re Mac or “i” people (iPhone, iPod, iPad) makes life easier. For example, they could be completely stoked to have their favourite image or their business logo turned into a mobile phone cover. And yes, men are twice as likely as women to want to spend their money on electronics.

In fifth place (29%) are concert and movie tickets. You can buy books of 10 vouchers for the movies or shout them a night at the Gold Class/La Premiere cinemas. Concerts provide sooooooo much room for error – do they prefer the sounds of Sinatra or Slipknot? The cost of these can run into hundreds of dollars if the show also happens to be intrastate (eg like when they play at the Hunter Valley vineyards) so if money is an issue you may have to play it safe but dull with iTunes gift cards. A quarter of men and women equally want movies and music so you can’t really go wrong here if you can’t spring for a plane ticket…

Many people unwittingly damage their relationships through poor gift choices because they’re thinking narrowly only in terms of what would interest them, not the recipient. How many times have you heard the old yarn about men giving their wives a bowling ball for their birthday?! It happens (not necessarily a bowling ball, but you get my drift).

Gift-giving is a surprisingly effective way to cement relationships, to create emotional intimacy, joy and admiration.

However, many people, and this is usually - but not restricted to – men, think having to select your birthday gift is a chore but for many women, it’s tangible proof that you care enough about them to get it right.

What stops many people from giving a great birthday gift – and this does not mean an expensive gift, by the way – is their own self-centredness, egotism and thoughtlessness.

Too many people thinking racing into the departmentre store and plucking a perfume gift set or a paperback off the shelves will ‘do fine’.

Unfortunately all it shows is that they cannot even dedicate 30 minutes shopping online for a thoughtful gift – and while the recipient may be too polite to say so – it is obvious when you get a generic gift. While the gift-giver doesn’t realise it, the recipient is often thinking, “Oh, they don’t really know what I like at all,” which can llead to disappointment, resentment and damaged relationships.

Asking people what they want for their birthday is almost as thoughtless.

If you know your mother, father, partner, siblings, children or friends in any depth at all, you will know what hobbies they have, and what life events (pregnancy, buying a new house, getting married, backpacking for a year) are affecting them – so asking them shows a certain laziness about thinking carefully about their gift and suggests you think of gift-giving as a chore.

So don’t ask them! Think.

Do they play golf? They might love a one-on-one round with a pro to improve their swing. Do they quilt? What about a couple of tickets to the next quilting show? Is your brother still into Star Wars? There’s heaps of fun stuff on eBay! What labels do your teenage boys wear – they typically “follow” only a few brands. If your friends are moving house, what about giving them a gift certificate for a professional clean (at their new or old house)? If your sister is having a baby, you could give her something baby-related, or perhaps shout her a new hairdo to cheer her up.

If you spend just 20-30 minutes thinking hard about what would suit and please them, I guarantee there would be far less regifting, wasted money and relationship misunderstandings.

If you have family scattered across the planet, it can cost a small fortune getting everyone their birthday gifts on time, let alone making sure their Christmas presents arrive on time!

This story is why it pays to organise your gifts at least six weeks in advance…

I saw a gorgeous coffee table book, French Country House which I thought would be perfect for, oh well never mind who in case she’s reading this(!) at Australian bookstore, Dymocks for $AUD100 and nearly fell off my chair at how expensive it was.

So I searched for it with those very helpful people at Amazon and was verrry interested to see it was $US22.76. Allowing for our exchange rate, it’s still only about $AUD25.

Bargain! But then I have to get it here…

Sending it to me in Australia via priority courier shipping to arrive within 3-5 business days is $US21.99 per shipment + $US7.99 per item = $AUD32 (approx). So I’m saving about $AUD43 ($AUD75-32). Can I do better?

Expedited shipping (8-16 business days) is $US9.99 (shipment) + $US5.99 per item = $AUD17 (approx). So now I’m saving $AUD58. Can I wring it out even more?

Yes, indeedy. Standard shipping (18-32 business days) is $4.99 shipment + $4.99 per item = $AUD11 (approx).

So by allowing up to 6.4 weeks ahead from now (which takes me from today’s date – 26 April – to about 10 June), I can save myself  $64.

Not everyone is going to buy a $100 coffee table book of course, but by planning ahead, you can save yourself quite a bit, up to $39, for example if it has to get to Israel. To make it apples with apples, say you’re going to send a Amazon book to a friend in:

Africa – standard ($13.98), expedited ($20.98), priority ($49.98)

Asia-Pacific – standard ($9.98), expedited ($19.98), priority ($35.98)

Atlantic/Carribbean – standard ($13.98), expedited ($20.98), priority ($49.98)

Australia – standard ($9.98), expedited ($15.98), priority ($29.98)

Canada – standard ($8.98), expedited ($10.98), priority ($49.98)

Europe – standard ($7.98), expedited ($12.48), priority ($35.98)

Israel – standard ($10.98), expedited ($15.98), priority ($49.98)

Japan – standard ($8.98), expedited ($13.98), priority ($26.98)

Latin America – standard ($9.98), expedited ($20.98), priority ($36.98)

Middle East – standard ($13.98), expedited ($20.98), priority ($49.98)

It’s quite a difference isn’t it? You can see how much it starts to cost if you leave it too late!

So if you have to buy a wedding, anniversary, christening or birthday gift in June for a friend or family member who lives overseas (or who like me, he or she lives in Australia), you need to organise their gift now to pay the lowest rate for shipping…

Even if you plan ahead, it’s all too easy to suddenly have an occasion – an unexpected birthday, a last-minute invitation to a dinner – where you’ll need to bring a gift. It’s no fun having to buy gifts when you’re broke so you need to keep an eye out and use your imagination during the year for sources of gifts.

Stationery stores - I gave my grandfather’s next-door neighbour a hamper from Officeworks to thank her for having us for Christmas. The stationery company buys in bulk, and the hamper included the same amount of food that the equivalent one from David Jones would contain – for a third of the price.

Free movie passes – Sometimes the companies I work with provide free tickets to premieres and it’s usually for two people. I also joined SeeFilmFirst where you can get invitations to advance screenings in Australia. A movie is a low-cost way to treat a friend, one of your siblings or your mum.

Local deli – one of my friends has a real sweet tooth so I always add a bar of fancy nougat, biscotti or other Italian delicacies to my shopping basket to be prepared if she invites me over for dinner.

Manicure salons – if your manicure salon is like mine, you get 20% off for every six visits. Invite your best friend to join you in a mani-pedi and treat her to some pampering.

Frequent flyer schemes – if you know you’ll never get enough points for that first class around-the-world airfare(!), why not cash in your points for gifts instead? The Velocity Rewards program for example, has a 5-piece Bunnykins dinner set right now for just 6,700 points or a RedBalloon Days gift voucher for $50.